There've been scattered reports of Dell Computer Co. laptops bursting into flames without warning, though there's been little urgency attached to the reports. But in a potentially catastrophic case documented by independent witnesses, a Dell laptop is the primary suspect in a blaze that ignited several boxes of ammunition, sent two tough outdoorsmen running for their lives and left a vintage Ford truck burned to the ground.
It all started as Thomas Forqueran and a friend, Rod Riddle, were packing up after a two-day fishing trip at Lake Mead National Forest in Nevada, on July 13, 2006.
 |
|
Thomas Forqueran's vintage Ford truck post-fire |
 |
|
Forqueran and "Jenny" in happier times |
Forqueran put his Dell Inspiron laptop on the floor of the passenger side of his truck as the two men started packing. Riddle heard a popping noise coming from the cab while loading equipment but was not alarmed until Forqueran smelled smoke.
"Flames were shooting about three feet out the window," the 62-year-old Forqueran said. "I ran to the driver's side door and the flames were rushing at me and the three boxes of bullets in the glove compartment. It was extremely accelerated. It was like someone was firing napalm."
Forqueran screamed to Riddle for water, hoping to save "Jenny," his 1966 Ford F-250.
"I could tell by the look of the fire from where I was that there was no way we were going to put out the fire," wrote Riddle in his hand-scrawled witness testimonial.
Both men ran for cover as bullets zinged past and the rapidly spreading flames in the cab of the antique truck reached the gas tank. Everything in the truck was destroyed in the subsequent fuel explosion.
"Flames were shooting 12 feet into the air above the truck for about 10 minutes," Forqueran said. "There was a very large pillar of black smoke in the sky."
Park Ranger Brandon Marsmaker responded to that pillar of smoke.
• "When I examined the vehicle I noted the remnants of shell casings," Marsmaker wrote in his incident report. "I also noted what appeared to be the remains of a laptop computer. . . . The flame pattern indicates that it started on the passenger side of the vehicle and primarily worked its way back to the bed of the truck. . . . All items inside the vehicle were destroyed by the fire."
The flames engulfed Forqueran's wallet, Winchester rifle, GPS unit, cell phone, camera and both men's camping gear -- Forqueran estimates close to $5,000 worth of damage, not to mention a $500 tow.
The men were trapped in a breezeless canyon for eight hours in 110-degree heat, with few supplies, before the tow truck finally arrived. By that time, Riddle was sick from heat exhaustion, which had set in that morning -- before Forqueran's Dell Inspiron 1300/B130 set his truck ablaze.
An Heirloom is Lost
Riddle recovered, but Forqueran is still grieving the loss of Jenny, the family heirloom -- a stock 1966 Ford that Forqueran took to auto shows.
"I can never replace Grandpa's truck," Forqueran said. "Grandpa bought it new and kept it that way. There were a lot of family memories in that truck. We even installed an outdoor soft water spigot to clean the truck. We always used to say that Grandpa would be turning in his grave if the truck ever got dirty."
Although Forqueran's story is perhaps the most dramatic, his Dell laptop is not the only one to combust.
The first case of a Dell laptop starting a fire came to public notice when the Inquirer, an online technology publication, posted a story and photos of a Dell laptop exploding at a conference in Japan. The Inquirer published the story June 21, 2006, quoting a witness as saying, "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes." Luckily, only a table and a tablecloth were damaged.
 |
Inquirer photo |
